


a thrilling chase, a wondrous place

by cheryltonis



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: ChONI AU, F/F, Strangers to Lovers, cheryl is trying to have a bad time, choni, toni’s a know it all, we going to disney world folks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-10
Updated: 2020-02-10
Packaged: 2021-02-28 01:07:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,676
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22655251
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cheryltonis/pseuds/cheryltonis
Summary: the trip was already paid for in full with her name on the roster. and now she was being forced to spend a whole week in florida, at a theme park lead by rats.
Relationships: Cheryl Blossom/Toni Topaz
Comments: 13
Kudos: 169





	a thrilling chase, a wondrous place

**Author's Note:**

> Howdy. I don’t know what this is or why I wrote it, but here it is anyway. Hope it’s enjoyable!

Cheryl didn’t know what people ever saw in this place. It was hot, it was crowded (which only made it hotter), and the employees acted like robots on uppers. 

Needless to say when Betty’s parents had told everyone that they were taking a family vacation to Walt Disney World for Juniper and Dagwood’s birthday, she was less than enthused. In fact, she was the only one not crying from happiness when they revealed the news last week. And to make matters worse, the trip was already paid for in full with her name on the roster. And now she was being forced to spend a whole week in _Florida_ , at a theme park lead by rats. 

It wasn’t really a family vacation. The Coopers were like family to her, but it was only because she had been friends with Betty since preschool and her twin brother Jason had taken a liking to Betty’s older sister Polly ever since they were kids. And Cheryl was sixteen, she became an aunt to her brother’s own set of twins. But of course, Jason was still the golden boy in their family. Their parents supported him no matter what. 

God forbid Cheryl had gotten pregnant as a teenager like Polly had, she would have been thrown into a group home for unwed mothers in the most desolate little European country on the map. But no amount of good grades or extracurricular awards could make her the favorite child. Not with her _alignment_ , as her mother so delicately called it. So even if the Coopers weren’t her immediate family, Cheryl still thought of them that way. Not only had she grown up with them, but they didn’t see her any differently just because she liked girls.

But no matter how much she loved them and adored her niece and nephew, she would rather be _anywhere_ but here. 

“I’m going to double check on our dinner reservations,” Hal thumbed towards a building labeled ‘Town Hall’. Apparently this park was supposed to be some kind of little vintage city with a train station, a theater and a bakery.

“So, if this is supposed to be a city, why is there a giant castle at the end of the street?” Cheryl crossed her arms over her chest as they waited in line to meet Minnie Mouse in the middle of the crowded hub in front of the train station. 

“It’s Main Street. It’s supposed to be themed after the town where Walt Disney grew up,” Alice explained, letting go of Juniper’s hand to search through her backpack for her camera.

“So don’t you think the castle is a little out of place?” the redhead quirked an eyebrow skeptically. 

“Cheryl, didn’t you do any research or anything on this place before we came? The whole park is divided into seven different themed parts,” Jason showed her the park map that he’d gotten at the entrance, “Fantasyland is right behind the castle.”

_”Fantasyland?”_ she asked, her voice dripping with judgement. This place was so lame. Maybe she could fake a stomach ache so she could sneak away and go back to the hotel.

“Just try to have a good time, all right? We’re not here for you,” the red headed boy rolled his eyes and folded the map back up to place in his pocket. 

Cheryl rolled her eyes and glared at the sweaty backs of the people in line in front of them. Betty was holding onto Dagwood’s hand while Polly and Jason cuddled together while they waited, stealing kisses every few moments.

“Junie?” Alice’s voice got all their attention as she started to look around frantically, “Where’s Juniper?”

Cheryl glanced around, letting her stone cold demeanor drop as she became filled with nothing but concern for the whereabouts of her five year old niece. “She was right there a second ago,” her brown eyes filled with worry as they all looked around, trying to look for the little redhead in blue overall shorts.

Removing herself from the line, Cheryl looked around anxiously, calling out her name and asking random strangers if they’d seen her. This place was huge and so crowded. But she couldn’t have gotten too far in such a short amount of time.

Looping around the little hub, she spotted a tiny head of fiery red hair across the street, holding onto the hand of a stranger. “Juniper!” she called out as she darted across the street, approaching the small girl and scooping her up into her arms, hugging her close before settling her on her hip. 

“Thank you,” she muttered to the tan skinned girl who Juniper had apparently found company in over the past few minutes that they’d been searching for her. If she weren’t so focused on her niece, Cheryl would have probably been gawking at the gorgeous woman in front of her. She never thought pink hair could be pulled off by many people, but this girl rocked it like she was born with it. Even if the flowing pink strands were topped off with one of the ridiculous pairs of mouse ears she’d seen in one of this place’s many gift shops. 

“I didn’t really do anything,” the girl chuckled with a shrug, “She came running right up to me asking what movie I’m from.”

Cheryl’s brows knit together as she looked at her starry-eyed niece in her arms, “Did you think she was a character?”

The smaller redhead nodded eagerly with a toothy grin, exposing one of her missing bottom ones, “She has princess hair. And she’s pretty.”

The pink haired girl giggled at the innocent comment and shook her head at the five year old. “I’m not a princess. Not today, anyway. I’m off duty.”

Cheryl snorted as the random stranger made her niece laugh, adjusting her higher onto her hip. “Well, um...thank you for entertaining her. I apologize if she bothered you.”

“Not a bother at all. We bonded over our shared fashion sense, didn’t we?” she gestured to her own blue denim overall shorts as Juniper nodded. “And not to overstep, but I hope you brought a spare change of shoes,” she chuckled and looked down at Cheryl’s five inch Louboutins, “As amazing as those are, you’re gonna regret wearing them by the time you get all the way up Main Street. Is this your first time here?”

“What are you-“ Cheryl started before Juniper’s name was being called out from behind her. Turning around, she saw Alice rushing towards them. And before she could blink, the little girl was being taken from her arms to be clutched to her grandmother’s chest tightly.

“Why did you run away from us? What if we couldn’t find you?” the older woman asked, completely breathless from running around.

“I saw a _princess_ , Grandma!” Juniper pulled back to look wide-eyed at her in all seriousness. 

Alice just tucked a stray piece of hair behind her tiny ear and sighed, “Well, princess or not, you don’t run off. Especially not in a place this crowded, understand?”

Cheryl watched as the five year old nodded and apologized before Alice turned on her heel to head back to where the rest of the family was waiting. She looked back to where the petite pinkette had been standing, wanting to thank her again, but she had completely vanished amongst the crowd. And after glancing around for a moment, trying to spot the unique head of hair, Cheryl gave up and made her way back to the train station with her Louboutins clicking with each confident step.

**xxx**

“Betty, I don’t know about this,” Cheryl looked at her best friend with her arms wrapped securely around her own torso. Sure, she thought this was a lame place for kids, but that didn’t mean that she wanted to be proven wrong by going on a roller coaster. And the fact that Betty described Space Mountain to her as ‘a fast ride through the dark’ didn’t ease her anxieties.

“Come on, Cheryl, you said so yourself. This place is for kids. So we’re going on a roller coaster for kids,” the blonde smirked, looping her arm through hers. The two had broken off from the group to head to Tomorrowland on their own. Betty was the only one who really wanted to ride it and she wasn’t going to let Cheryl miss out on the fun. 

Cheryl glanced around in the line, noticing that there were more adults and teenagers than there were children. So maybe this particular ride wasn’t designed with kids in mind. Not the little kids that she had assumed were the park’s main target audience. 

“Oh come on, Cher, it’s gonna be fun,” she tugged her along as the line moved. It was still early in the morning, so it wasn’t too long of a wait. Then again, Cheryl didn’t think that _anything_ in this place was worth waiting a whole twenty minutes for. 

As they got closer to the boarding platform, melodic laughter came from a few feet behind her, causing her ears to perk up like a dog’s. And she’d barely turned around before she saw the short pink-haired girl who she had met earlier this morning, coming up the walkway on the other side of the railing with a trio of boys who were all _much_ bigger than her. 

The redhead watched them pass by, watching the bubblegum colored hair turn purple under the blue overhead lighting. “Why are they going ahead of us?”

“They must have Fastpasses,” Betty shrugged as they approached the cast member who asked how many were in their group before letting them pass and get in the next phase of the weaving queue, not too far behind the girl and her gaggle of guy friends. 

She could feel her heartbeat speed up a little as they shuffled through the line. With the way the railings around them were set up, she was going to pass by the pinkette in just a few steps. Why was she nervous to talk to her? Sure, she was beautiful. Gorgeous, even, but it wasn’t like Cheryl was planning on putting the moves on her. Besides, she was never one to do the chasing in the first place. 

“Hey, Red Bottoms,” a voice snapped her out of her thoughts. And once her eyes gained focus once more, she saw the stunning stranger right in front of her, smiling from ear to ear. 

“Excuse me?”

“Your shoes,” she gestured to the Louboutins once again with a laugh, “I’m surprised you haven’t broken your ankles yet.”

Cheryl glanced down at the black shoes under her skinny jeans. What was this girl’s obsession with her shoes?

“It’s just a nickname,” the girl chuckled as she progressed through the line with her friends. But before Cheryl could respond, she was too far gone, already boarding rocket-shaped coaster cars.

“Who’s that?” Betty asked from behind her as she stared ahead at the mystery girl.

Shrugging, Cheryl didn’t tear her eyes away from the pink haired girl until her rocket ship had moved forward on the track, removing her from her line of sight. “I don’t know. She’s the girl I found Junie with earlier. The one she thought was a princess.”

“She calls you Red Bottoms?” her best friend laughed, “That’s _so_ cute. You should ask for her name next time...Maybe her number...”

The redhead elbowed her in the ribs as her cheeks flamed up in an intense blush. “Shut up. I’m not looking for a vacation hookup. Especially not in a place like this.”

“What do you mean? Disney World is so romantic!”

“If your idea of romance is being surrounded by screaming kids and sweaty old men who smell like sunscreen then I think I can stop wondering why you’re still single,” Cheryl snorted, “Besides, I don’t even know her name.”

“Well, we’ll be here all day. Maybe she will too.”

Quirking her lips to the side, the older girl wondered if she would see the the strangerl again. If she did, she should gift her with her own nickname, even though she didn’t know her real one.

**xxx**

Her feet were _killing_ her. The only thing that kept her moving in them was the random pinkette’s words in her head, calling her “Red Bottoms” and telling her that she’d made the wrong choice in footwear. No one told Cheryl Blossom that her Louboutins were the wrong choice...even if they were correct in saying so. And to so rudely assume that just because she wore them that it was her first time here...even though it was. The audacity.

“You okay?” Betty asked, from behind her as they stood in line at Pinocchio Village Haus. The twins decided that they wanted pizza for lunch, so after waiting an ungodly amount of time in line to meet Cinderella and Rapunzel, the Cooper/Blossom clan made their way to the restaurant behind the carousel. With the way it was designed both inside and outside, Cheryl thought it looked like they were stepping into an old Italian cuckoo clock. She had to admit that this place certainly was immersive and very attentive in their theming. Down to the littlest details like tiles on the floor and paintings on the walls. 

“Fine. Just trying to decide,” she muttered with a fake smile. As long as she’d been staring at the menu in the long, lunch rush line to the registers, she hadn’t thought about what to eat at all. No, she’d been too focused on the pain in her feet and the mysterious girl who warned her about them. A part of her hoped that she would run into her again. At least to get her name...

Getting to the register, she ordered herself a Caesar salad with a bottle of water, grateful that they had something at least a little healthy on the menu. When she was told that they would be spending a week in this place, she feared that she would be forced to eat funnel cake and burgers for every meal. But aside from the crowds, long lines, and the unbearable summer heat, Disney World wasn’t proving to be as lame as she thought it would be. The rides she’d been on were pretty fun, the place was fairly clean, the staff was friendly, and despite how hideous the accessory was, she loved having the ability to tap her bright red wristband to a card reader to buy something instead of having to fish out her credit card every time.

“Hey, check it out,” Betty nudged her in the ribs as she joined her in the line to wait for their food, nodding her head in the direction of a few registers over. 

Following her gaze, Cheryl’s heart dropped when she saw the familiar head of pink hair, now pulled back into a ponytail. Most likely due to the awful Florida heat and humidity. Cheryl watched as the gorgeous stranger paid for her meal in cash with a smile that she was sure could light up all of New York City before ducking her head and looking away before she could get caught staring. 

“I don’t get why you just won’t go talk to her,” Betty rolled her eyes as a flush took over her friend’s face, “It’s obvious you at least think she’s cute. I mean, if I swung that way, I’d have her number already.”

“It took you until ninth grade to tell Archie you liked him, so I find that hard to believe,” the redhead scoffed as she took her tray after her number was called out, “Besides, what do you expect is gonna happen if I do talk to her?”

Shrugging, Betty grabbed her own tray as they started walking through the lobby and towards the dining room where the rest of their family was already seated, “I dunno. But if you decide to run off with her, I’ll cover for you.”

“I won’t be running off with _anyone_ , Betty. This is a family vacation, I’m here for the twins’ birthday. Not to find romance with someone who looks like a cartoon character from the 80’s.”

“I’m just saying, we’re in the place where dreams come true,” she teased, “You might finally find yourself a girlfriend.”

Cheryl rolled her eyes and elbowed her in the ribs as they walked up to the table.

“You okay, Cher? You look like you’re in pain,” Jason chuckled at the look on his sister’s face as he cut up Dagwood’s pizza.

“Just hungry,” she flashed her pearly white teeth at him as she sat down, opening the little package of dressing to pour over her salad. She swirled her fork through the bowl to mix the dressing around, lifting her eyes momentarily. And of course, with her impeccable timing, she managed to catch the warm brown gaze of the girl who’d been running through her mind ever since she saw her in line for Space Mountain. She was merely crossing the dining room with the band of three taller boys behind her, but the smile and little wave she sent Cheryl’s way had the redhead turning just as pink as her hair as she awkwardly averted her eyes back to her salad. 

Unfortunately for her, Betty noticed. And the blonde didn’t plan on letting it slide.

**xxx**

“Are you having a good time, Daggie?” Cheryl wiped her nephew’s face with a baby wipe that Polly conveniently always carried around. She didn’t know how he managed to get so much chocolate on his face from his Mickey shaped ice cream bar, but if making a mess was an Olympic sport, Dagwood would take home the gold every time.

“Yeah. I wanna go on that!” the little boy pointed across the way from where they were sitting to the colorful ride where people were laughing joyfully in fast spinning teacups. 

“I don’t think we should go on that so soon after eating, bud,” Jason ruffled his hair playfully as he wiped chocolate off Juniper’s face as well, “But maybe later.”

“Can I at least go watch?”

“You can go watch, but just stay with Aunt Cheryl,” he nodded, laughing when his son got up and practically tugged his aunt towards the ride. 

Cheryl struggled to keep up with her nephew. Especially since her feet were starting to hurt more and more with each break they took. But being the devoted aunt she was, she still picked Dagwood up so he could see over the fence that surrounded the teacups, watching as dizzy people left and eager newcomers boarded. 

“Purple teacups spin the fastest!” a giggling voice caught her attention as she saw the same _damned_ pink haired girl she’d been seeing all day make a beeline for a lavender colored teacup with the boys trailing behind her. Were they really here by themselves without any kids? She hadn’t seen a kid with them all day. What kind of adults would come to this place alone?

Then again, it did look like they were having a lot more fun than she was.

She watched as the ride started, sending each teacup on a whirling path under the canopy. She could hear the girl’s laughter over everyone else’s as the tallest boy from her little group nearly spun their cup off its hinges.

“Sweets, cut it out, I’m gonna throw up!” she shrieked with laughter as the tall boy spun even faster. 

Cheryl caught herself smiling, even laughing along with the familiar stranger. But that wasn’t weird. She’d laugh along with _anyone_ who had laughter that infectious. 

“Cheryl! Dagwood! Come on, we’re gonna get in line to meet Buzz Lightyear!” Betty called from behind her, causing the redhead to tear her eyes off the tan-skinned girl who was practically crying from laughing.

“Buzz Lightyear!” Dagwood squirmed out of her arms to be set on his feet, dragging his aunt back towards the group.

**xxx**

Leaning against the painted wooden railing, Cheryl fixed her hair as best she could with the image of herself in her phone screen. Thankfully she was sitting in the back row of Splash Mountain where her hair and clothes had only gotten slightly sprayed with water. Poor Juniper and Dagwood were seated in the front and were currently in the bathroom being dried off by Alice and Polly while Hal, Jason, and Betty were wandering aimlessly around yet another gift shop. But Cheryl was far more content alone outside the ride while she waited for them. Apparently their next destination was a stage show full of animatronic singing bears, so the longer they took, the better.

“How’s your feet?” a voice came from behind her, sending a chill up her spine as she angled her phone just enough to see a smirking face staring back at her. 

“Stalking me, now?” she replied cooly, though her body felt anything but. Suddenly just the presence of this girl was enough to send Cheryl spiraling into an internal panic. But she turned around bravely to face her, trying not to let the pain in her feet show. Thankfully she was raised to have an excellent poker face. 

“Stalking? Aren’t _you_ the one watching _me_ at the Mad Tea Party?” the girl quirked her pink lips to the side with an accusing eyebrow and her arms crossed over her chest.

Cheryl could control her facial expressions, but she was cursed with such pale skin that the simplest blush was obvious. Which meant that this girl could see the effect she had had on her clear as day.

“Right time, right place, I guess. But hey, it’s been a good...” the girl continued and pulled her phone out to check the time, “six hours since the park opened. I’m impressed. It can get tiring and painful even in these.”

Cheryl glanced down as she gestured to her dirty white Vans. Even with the dirt stains that she wouldn’t be caught dead wearing out in public, they looked much more comfortable than her six inch heels. At this point she was sure that she would need to see her pedicurist the second they arrived back in New York. 

“I just hope you brought something more comfortable for the rest of your trip. You’re here for what? A week? Staying at the Grand Floridian Resort?” the petite girl across from her held her hands on her hips with the same smirk she’d been wearing since she first showed up.

“Uh...y-yeah. How do you know that?” Maybe she _was_ some kind of stalker. How on earth could she possibly know that?

She just shrugged and stuffed her hands into the pockets of her overall shorts, “It’s pretty much textbook. The big family, the expensive shoes that _no one_ would wear if they’d been here before. I see it all the time.”

Scoffing, Cheryl rolled her eyes and crossed her arms defensively over her chest, “What do you live up in that castle or something?”

“No, but you tend to learn a few things about tourists when you’ve been coming here pretty much once a week since you were able to walk,” the girl chuckled at the look of shock on the redhead’s face, “I come from a pretty Disney obsessed family.”

“Obviously,” Cheryl muttered, leaning against the wooden railing to ease the pain in her soles.

“Well, I can tell you’re not really into it. It’s not for everyone. But try to have a good time while you’re here. If you focus too much on the heat and the crowds, you’re never gonna be able to experience the place the way it was meant to be experienced.”

“And how’s that?”

The pinkette opened her mouth to answer before her attention turned to a male voice from behind Cheryl. “Tiny! Let’s go! Fastpasses for Big Thunder expire in five!” 

Cheryl turned around to see the taller boy with mouse ears attached to his baseball cap and a lanyard of enamel pins around his neck, holding his arms up in an impatient manner. 

“I gotta go. See ya later, Red Bottoms,” she took off with her hands looped around her backpack straps, running in the opposite direction after a brief wave.

Cheryl watched her ponytail bounce against her shoulders as she ran, letting her words sink in as she leaned against the railing as she kept an eye out for her family.

**xxx**

The appeal in meeting people dressed as fictional characters was something that Cheryl didn’t think she would _ever_ understand. Even when she was a child, she remembered being able to differentiate fantasy from reality. Sure, she loved a good princess movie just like most other little girls, but she told plain and simple that they were just fairytales. And now as an adult, she found it even more strange that people actually treated the characters in this park like they were the real deal. Even other adults. After what her pinkette stalker her said, she started paying more attention to the groups of people that surrounded her.

There were families with children, families without children, elderly couples, young newlyweds, single parents, groups of teenaged friends...it was a literal mixed bag. And every one of them was enjoying themselves. It didn’t seem like anyone else was dreading the experience like she had been before. Maybe she really was the only miserable one here.

“How many in your group?” the cast member asked cheerfully as they got to the front of the line. 

“Six,” Alice answered with a grin, nodding when they were told to wait just a few more minutes. Juniper was over the moon that they were about to meet Ariel, and Cheryl didn’t think the little girl was going to be able to wait another minute.

“Hey, Cher, look who’s here,” Betty nudged her with a smirk, nodding her head in the direction of another line around the corner that Cheryl couldn’t quite see.

“How many in your group?” the same girl asked before receiving ‘four’ as an answer from whoever was on the other side of the wall. “Perfect, just scan your Magicbands for me,” she gestured to the Mickey shaped checkpoints and let them through once each of them had scanned their Fastpasses in. 

Cheryl didn’t know what Betty was trying to get her to see until she saw the small group come through, lead by none other than the pink haired girl she only knew as ‘Tiny’.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” the redhead mumbled to herself as she rolled her eyes.

“Have you seen her anymore since lunch?”

“Yeah, like three times,” Cheryl practically hissed.

“Have you _talked_ to her?”

“Once...kind of.”

“Still don’t know her name?”

“Nope.”

They watched as one more group with Fastpasses were let in before the employee allowed the family of six past the ropes, directing them on where to go next. 

Cheryl could hear talking and laughter getting louder as they turned a few corners. Once they rounded the last one, they were officially in the “grotto” as they got in line behind the group that was let in just before them.

“Look, it’s Ariel!” Juniper pointed to the sitting mermaid, excitedly bouncing on her feet, “And the princess from this morning!”

Leaning against a wall in the shadows, Cheryl watched as the girl interacted with the mermaid, making conversation as if it were second nature and posing for photos with her and her friends. After everything she’d seen today so far, it didn’t seem as weird anymore. They were just people here having a good time like everyone else. Cheryl just didn’t know how anyone could standing coming here every weekend for so long. She, herself, would definitely have gotten sick of it by now.

“I think you have a twin over there,” her heart dropped in her chest as she saw the girl with pink hair pointing at her with a smug grin, causing the mermaid with comically red hair to whirl around and wave excitedly in their direction.

“Hi, twin!” Ariel called over to them. But before Cheryl could say anything, Juniper stepped in and saved her from a world of embarrassment as everyone in the room laughed.

“Hi!” the five year old called back, thinking that the mermaid was addressing her instead of her aunt.

Cheryl breathed a sigh of relief and disappeared back into the shadows as the girl took one last photo with the mermaid before getting up to leave with her friends.

**xxx**

Sighing in relief, Cheryl leaned against the back of the stone bench in front of the castle, rubbing the backs of her ankles in pain. She was alone. Everyone else had gone back to the hotel to sleep for the night. But Cheryl was determined to see her pastel-haired friend one last time. But after not seeing her again for hours, she was starting to think that maybe she’d left as well. Unfortunately for her, once she realized that staying here was pointless, the crowds were too heavy all along Main Street for her to even try to get to the exit. Apparently the fireworks were starting soon and she’d snagged herself a pretty good seat.

Stretching her legs as best she could, she looked down at the hideous red Crocs on her feet. Betty had taken her Louboutins back to the hotel with her after Cheryl had caved and bought the ugly but comfortable shoes to last her the rest of the night. She had a feeling that she’d be skipping Epcot tomorrow and spending the day at the hotel spa.

“It really is a small world after all,” a familiar voice pulled her focus back to her surroundings, “Well, they’re not Louboutins, but your feet are probably a lot happier. This seat taken?”

Cheryl stared at the pinkette in a bit of awe as she shook her head, scooting over a bit to make room. 

“Where’s the rest of your family?” 

“They went back to the hotel. I think they were regretting trying to go all day in this place with twin five year olds,” the redhead snorted. 

“So you’re here alone?” 

“Mmhm,” she nodded, “Where are your friends?”

“They ditched me to go ride Space Mountain again. The lines are always way shorter around this time cause most people are gathering to watch the fireworks.”

“And you just so happened to find me sitting here?” she cocked an eyebrow at her.

“Well, you’re kinda in my spot,” she chuckled.

“ _Your_ spot?”

“Only place I’ve sat to watch the fireworks for the past ten years,” she shrugged before thumbing up to the statue of Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse behind them, “I like to sit with the big guy.”

Cheryl looked behind her at the bronze statue, watching as a few people took photos in front of it before turning back to the stranger sitting beside her. “You’re kidding, right? When you said you come here every weekend, that was a joke?”

“No jokes. If I’m not working, I’ll come with my friends or just by myself,” she shrugged, taking her backpack off to settle it under her feet.

“How can you possibly afford that? You can’t be more than what? Twenty?”

“Twenty two. Annual pass holder. And a Florida resident. The discounts are pretty hard to pass up.”

“And you spend your free time _here?_ ”

“Look, I know it sounds stupid. But...this place meant a lot to my parents. They met here working on a college internship. And they loved it so much, they both moved here and planted roots. My dad proposed to my mom right here. I took my first steps on Main Street…And...when they died…”

_Fuck._

Cheryl’s heart dropped in her chest. God, she was such an asshole.

“...I told myself that I’d keep the tradition alive and keep coming. My mom told me that she found something new to love about Magic Kingdom each time she set foot in the park. So now...I’m doing the same. And I’ll keep on coming until I run out of new things to love.”

Swallowing hard, Cheryl wiped her clammy palms on her jeans, shifting her Croc covered feet against the pavement. “I’m sorry, I didn’t-“

“Oh my god, don’t apologize for not knowing. You don’t even know my name, and I’m just an open book,” the pink haired girl laughed, making Cheryl’s sunken heart soar.

“Still, I shouldn’t have been so...rude and judgemental about it.”

“Hey, I meant what I said. This place isn’t for everyone, I get it. A lot of people find it pretty silly. But I love seeing the looks on peoples’ faces when they see the castle for the first time, or after they meet a character they’ve loved since they were a little kid. It just reminds me that people still have that little bit of childish spark in them. People...they change when they come here. They’re not the same people they are out there in the real world.” The girl stared blankly up at the lit up castle as she spoke, but Cheryl was more entranced by her profile than the color-changing lights on the building.

“Yeah, there’s assholes around here who think that because they have a lot of money they can treat everyone around them like dirt, and people who get cranky cause it’s hot and they didn’t get the dinner reservation they wanted and their crying kid just dropped their ice cream cone. But...this is my favorite part of the day. As crowded as it is, everyone comes together and just shuts up to watch the fireworks. Cause once the sky lights up, suddenly the missed dinner reservations and spilled ice cream cones don’t matter anymore. To me that’s just...magic.”

The redhead watched as a small grin curled on her pink lips. “I suppose they don’t call it Magic Kingdom for nothing,” she muttered with a small smile of her own, looking down at her lap when brown eyes turned to meet her own. “If I may, what did you find this time?”

“What?”

“You said you find something new each time you come here. What did you find this time?”

The pinkette flicked her tongue over her lips with a chuckle and turned her crossed legs towards her, “A cute girl. One who’s apparently just gonna keep letting me call her ‘Red Bottoms’ cause she hasn’t told me her name all day.”

A heavy blush rose to her porcelain cheeks at her words as she tried to keep her composure. She was used to compliments, but never from people she had mutual feelings for. “Well, frankly, I don’t give my name out to strangers. So maybe if you told me your name first…” Now she was just being coy, but two could play at this flirting game. 

“Antoinette. But everyone calls me Toni,” she hummed out a response, “Now you.”

“Cheryl,” she extended a hand cordially to her new companion. 

“Nice to finally meet you, Cheryl,” Toni giggled, the sound sending a shiver up Cheryl’s spine as their hands touched.

“You as well, Toni.”

“Here,” the pink haired girl pulled her hand back and reached up to slip her black mouse ears with a sequined red bow off her head, sliding the headband onto Cheryl’s. 

“What are you-“

“I’m not gonna let you leave this place without a pair of mouse ears. But trust me, you don’t wanna set foot in the gift shops after the fireworks are over,” Toni snorted.

“But these are yours,” Cheryl blushed, reaching up to touch the headband. At least she wasn’t some kind of spectacle wearing them with her ugly red shoes. If anything, she blended in even more. But Toni waved a nonchalant hand and fixed her pink hair back behind her ears.

“I’ve got a ton of them.”

Biting down on her bottom lip, she barely got her ‘Thank you’ out before the lights around them went out as the castle was lit up with brightly projected colors and images, loud pops of fireworks filling Cheryl’s ears along with the music of the show. Back home, fireworks were just fireworks. It wasn’t put on as a presentation or a show, they were just lit up in the park every July 4th and New Years Eve. It was nothing special. Not like this. This was a work of _art_. Combined with the show projected onto the castle walls, Cheryl had never seen anything like it. 

“Wow,” she breathed with a smile of awe, looking over at Toni to see brown eyes staring back at her. How long had she been watching her instead of the fireworks? “What?”

“Nothing, it’s just...nice to see you finally enjoying yourself,” she shrugged with a chuckle, “I think this is the first time I’ve seen you smile. I like it.” 

The redhead blushed fiercely and pulled her red painted lip between her teeth, turning back to the show she was meant to be watching. 

“Pretty crazy how we kept running into each other all day, huh?” Toni asked beside her, though she had also turned back to face the castle, “Might even call it magical.”

Cheryl snorted a laugh through her nose and rolled her eyes as a shoulder came to nudge hers. “I know it’s called Magic Kingdom, but let’s not start talking crazy, Toni. It was purely coincidental. Not magic.”

“Only one way to find out, I guess,” the pinkette sighed dramatically, “We’re just gonna have to kiss.”

She nearly choked on her own tongue at that as she turned back to the girl, a look of complete disbelief in her eyes. _“What?”_

“Yeah,” Toni nodded with complete seriousness. For a minute, Cheryl had wondered if she’d actually lost her mind, or even had it in the first place, “See, if we kiss and it feels right, then that means that fate totally threw us together here. And if we kiss and don’t feel anything, then you’re right. All of this has just been a complete coincidence.”

Cheryl stared at her, watching her face glow with different colors as they lit up the sky. “You can’t be serious,” she couldn’t help but laugh, “That’s the biggest load of bullshit I’ve ever heard. I bet you use that on every girl you meet here.”

“Only the cute ones,” Toni laughed, “I had to find _some_ way to kiss you today. Otherwise I’d have to follow you to Epcot tomorrow and trust me, Epcot’s not the place for a first kiss.”

“How did you-“

“Textbook tourist,” she winked, “So we gonna test my theory or what?”

“You could have just asked like a normal person,” Cheryl rolled her eyes as her heart sped up in her chest. This was so unlike her, but she felt so oddly comfortable with this girl she had only met twelve hours ago.

“Where’s the fun in that?” Toni sent a devilish grin in her direction, scooting a little closer to her on the stone bench, “So how ‘bout it, Red Bottoms? Can I kiss you?”

“If you don’t, I’ll find someone else who w-“ she started before warm, glossed lips were on hers, sending shivers up and down her spine as her body became weightless. The crowd around them was gone and suddenly it was just them under the colorfully lit castle, fireworks erupting above their heads as well as in Cheryl’s chest. Time seemed to slow down and speed up simultaneously. It felt like an eternity, but still all too quick before Toni’s lips were pulled away from hers.

The redhead took a moment to metaphorically pick herself up off the ground before she opened her eyes, brown on brown as Toni studied her with a wrinkled brow. 

“Yeah, you’re right, it was probably just all a coincidence,” the pinkette sighed dramatically, but laughed right away when Cheryl playfully slapped her knee before pulling her in for another kiss.

Maybe this place wasn’t so bad after all.


End file.
